Star Wars: Balance of the Force (Anakin Skywalker Redemption)

2 - Choices

Ahsoka drummed her fingers on the table, the nervous habit was one that she and Anakin had shared and had driven Obi-Wan insane with. As the thought soured in her mind, she stopped.

She was sitting at the long oval table in the conference room below the command deck, waiting for the other rebellion leaders to arrive. She had already been up for a few hours, not that she had been sleeping much lately anyway.

Seven years. Soon the Coruscant clocks would tick over to the day that marked seven years since that dreadful celebration day. Ahsoka still dreamed of it, the beautiful decorations that covered the tall buildings, the temple bedecked in vines and flowers and the clones marching in perfect formation, their battle-worn armour replaced by pristine white uniform jackets and pressed black pants.

Despite the uniformity, many had still opted to wear their unique colours and tattoos on full display. The military leaders had been slightly offended when they saw the Jaig eyes Rex had painted onto his collar, or the blue paint and yellow sashes the 501st and 212th wore, but what did it matter? The war was over.

Ahsoka closed her eyes, reliving the joyful moment for a second longer. Then the screaming had begun.

Clones...marching on the senate, and opening fire. The 'Jedi' with them. Ahsoka still didn't know who those impersonators had been, nor how they had been able to acquire so many lightsabers to sell the deception, but it didn't matter either. The damage was done.

As drips of news trickled in, Ahsoka had acted.

Anakin had asked her to stay with his family, to protect Padmé and the twins while he continued his work with the Jedi. So, when the news arrived of the attack, she and Rex had forced Padmé and the twins onto the closest shuttle they could find and fled. After getting off-planet, they had ditched Padmé's Naboo Starship early on, lest any pursuer's chase the old Senator of Naboo.

News had come in slowly as they had moved from planet to planet, searching desperately for Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Cody.

They'd found Masters Plo and Velaya with Ezac not long afterward, continuing their journey until they landed on Shili for a time.

That was where Obi-Wan found them, after Ahsoka had tried signalling to him and Anakin using their old Fulcrum frequency. He had brought Cody, Wolffe and a number of other clones with them.

Yet, after the joyful reunion, their search for Anakin and any other surviving Jedi had resumed. It took another few months for the survivors to get any more information about the attack, though not for a lack of trying.

Ahsoka had searched tirelessly for her Master, desperate to bring him back to Padmé and the twins, and to Obi-Wan, who looked so lost without him. She had always seen that they were close, and she had seen him worried about his former Padawan but...never like this. He barely ate or slept, only offering them tired smiles in between his worried frowns.

They had tried a few other planets, even stopping on Corellia for a while, where news spread quicker. There they had heard of the utter destruction of the Senate building, and the decimation of the Jedi.

'Emperor' Palpatine had addressed his people, describing the fearsome attack on the Senate and his own life by the Jedi and the clones they had mind-controlled. As such, the clone army was being turned into menial workers, slaves really. The Senate would be rebuilt, the Emperor promised, but it would take time, and he would do all in his power to rule fairly in the meantime.

Despite barely hearing anything for months afterward, no one wanted to accept what seemed to be the truth. If Anakin were alive... 

Ahsoka knew her Master, and so did Obi-Wan. He never gave up. Ever. He was the most powerful Force-Wielder Ahsoka had ever met. Even on Mortis, surrounded by the literal embodiments of the Force, he had been unchallenged in so many ways.