When Stars Align

Chapter 8 - The Framing

Author's Note: Heartbreak warning?

~ Rivana Rita

There is nothing in the entire galaxy Anakin hate smore than dark, closed spaces and the cold. Here, he's trapped with both. Doesn't know how he'll make it out, or if. Of all the things that Anakin could've done, he never expected to end up inside a Republic prison for any reason in the galaxy, but here he is.

And there's nothing he can do about it because someone's trying to frame him for murder.

Probably, the same Jedi who thought it was an especially bright idea to blow up their Temple for no reason at all.

It reminds him of Krell.

That's predictably the moment Anakin senses another disturbance in the Force. Someone – something dark. He just wants to get out of here, Obi-Wan to come and... for everything to get better.

Not more chaos.

He hears something – is that a lightsaber igniting? – and blaster fire. Anakin pushes himself up, looking towards the door. There's a key card outside, lying on the floor. Someone left it here, and he doesn't have time to worry about that.

Someone's dying. He can feel their pain – they're clones – and Anakin knows what going out there will mean, but if something's happening, if someone's hurting them, he can't turn his back on them. They need him.

Anakin hesitates only a moment before opening the ray shield and sprinting out into the hall, but he's too late.

Five clones are lying dead on the floor, his lightsaber and comm tossed in the center of the floor.

Something about it instantly sets off alarm bells. Was someone here after his lightsaber? Or was it something – something worse? It seems more like worse, considering everything else going on. Anakin secures his comm on his wrist and takes his lightsaber, moving to the clones.

Whoever killed them was using a lightsaber, and probably the Force, too. It's – not pleasant. At all. Presumedly, the same person who killed Letta, because nothing is ever random like this. It's a Force user, or someone in league with them. And –

The sound of a door opening makes him freeze and look up.

Fox enters the room, freezing when he spots Anakin.

"No, wait!" Anakin yelps, but the clone is already racing for the controls, turning on the alarm system.

"It wasn't me!" It must sound ridiculous to Fox, because he'd have no way of knowing it wasn't Anakin, aside from his own word, but he has to –

Either his warning too late, or Fox doesn't believe him, and he sets off the alarm. "The Jedi prisoner has escaped," he calls over the comm system.

They're not going to listen to him. They won't believe it no matter how many times Anakin says it wasn't him, even if they all know he would never do something like this.

He can't stay here. Not – he needs to find who's responsible for this, and Anakin isn't really thinking when he just runs.

Panic is clawing its way up inside his chest, and he shouldn't do this, but Anakin has no idea what else to do.

He genuinely thought it couldn't get worse.

And then, he runs into a hall where three more clones are on the floor, with varying lightsaber wounds, all fatal. "Force," Anakin breathes, staring in wide-eyed horror at their bodies.

Someone is hurting them, and –

He has no idea who, but someone is trying to frame him. Doesn't have time to think about anything past that before Fox starts shooting at him. Live rounds.