Judgment Day

Chapter 15 - The Bad Batch

Author's Note: Enjoy the familiar faces! :D

~ Amina Gila

It's been several months since everything fell apart, several months in which they've all been trying to adjust to the new nightmare the galaxy has become. The Jedi are gone, and they have no hope of rebuilding until the Sith are destroyed. There are many survivors, but they've all heard the rumors about Dark Siders who are hunting them down. He can only hope Luke isn't one of them, but Obi-Wan knows better. Of course, he is. He's a Sith now. He wishes it were so easy for Anakin to accept that, but he doesn't blame him. They're still keeping Maul in custody with them because they can hardly let him out to wreak havoc on the galaxy again, even if keeping him is a bit of an inconvenience.

And... nothing has been quite the same for Obi-Wan either. Physically, he can move just like he used to, but the number of synthetic organs he was given to survive aren't without cost. The Force no longer flows through him how it once did, and he'll never be able to use it normally again. He loathes it. He's come to accept it, but that doesn't mean it's easy.

Is this how Anakin feels? Did his arm affect him this much too? He knew it wasn't easy for Anakin to adjust, but with the war beginning and everything, they had never taken the time to talk about it.

All of this happened because of Sidious, though, and he is not going to get away with it. They won't rest until they find some way to defeat him, even if it takes time.

Lior and Leia are snuggled in Anakin's arms, still too small to do anything. Except "be adorable" in Ahsoka's words. Obi-Wan still finds it beyond weird to see Anakin with children, though. Luke was one thing because that was time-travel. This is entirely different. He's only twenty-three. He was only a Jedi Knight for three years before this.

Although, as far as him being a Jedi is concerned, Obi-Wan doesn't really know what they'll do about that. Anakin broke the Code, and according to that, he should be thrown out of the Order. Not that there's any Order to even speak of right now. It will have to be rebuilt, and as far as Obi-Wan knows, he's the leading member. He can't imagine trying to do it without Anakin's help. It doesn't matter right now, though. Not until Sidious is dead.

Obi-Wan can hear Padme moving around in the next room, probably coming to announce it's time for the twin's nap. Though they're already dozing in Anakin's arms anyway. It's taken her a long time to recover from the twin's birth, and even though she's moving around more now, she still has a way to go before she'll be the way she used to be.

For now, they're staying on a planet far enough away from Coruscant and out of the way that they can hope no one will find them. They could hardly stay on the cruiser any longer, since it needs so much fuel. The clones had to find new places to hide, dispersing across the galaxy. They left the ship hidden somewhere safe for a time when they might need it.

"I should put them to bed," Anakin decides, standing, right as Padme appears in the doorway. He seems... happier than Obi-Wan's seen him in a long time, even if there's still a distinct heaviness to it that never leaves. He slips out of the room, returning some minutes later without the twins.

"Perhaps you were more fit for your first assignment as a Knight than I thought," Obi-Wan comments dryly. He'd been sent to talk to a group of younglings, and his initial horror when he heard what he had to do was too amusing to forget.

"Why do you even remember what it was?" Anakin asks dubiously.

Mostly because of the time it happened, right during Anakin's transition when Obi-Wan was trying to get used to the realization that he wouldn't have the boy with him all the time anymore. "Your reaction was worthy of remembering," he shoots back.